Divine Fighter: Yeah, I've already waited for someone commenting on Blade. Well, I just thought the name would fit, she being obsessed with knives and all. Hope Mr. W. Snipes doesn't feel offended. Zack will have to face some surprises that you can be sure of!

tylee17: Well, first of all thanks, of course, then: You'll learn in this chapter why Kyla didn't talk about her name but Max is in for some bad experiences. I still hope you read it but if not, well, there is a reason for this story being rated T. Thank you very much, tylee, your one of the best!!

roseyangel: Thanks to you, too. As I said you'll get to know more about Kyla in this chapter. About the names, well, I just thought about it for some minutes and then chose what came first to my mind. And what will happen if Max encounters someone from her 'family'? Well, just be patient *gg*

Taeniaea: Thanks again, Taeniaea!

tactless n' loving it: Welcome on board. Well, as I've written in the last chapter I don't know yet where exactly this story is going. It's like being between a rock and a hard place. Thanks for reviewing!

Alan Grey: No, I'm definitely not getting old! The cliffhanger isn't so bad this time, but the rest...well, I've warned all of you. Sequel? Who said anything about a sequel? *looks around innocently* Okay, okay, I've been thinking about it and I will certainly leave a note when I have decided what to do next. I will do what I can about the language but I can't guarantee there will be absolutely no swearing. About your question: male. Gotta update my profile.

We all know Zack feels more for Max than he usually admits so I can very well imagine he would react like that at first, but don't worry, he will not turn into a bad guy. I'm trying something else in this chapter with the char list like you can see below. Thanks a lot!

Okay, enough talking, I got another update for you. But first, let me warn you: This one is not gonna be nice. Perhaps it's because I've always thought of the X-series being soldiers despite the fact they're also human or perhaps it is just because I'm one myself. This is about what I think they would be doing.

But first the char list again, this time in alphabetical order for a change.

X5-494 aka Alec Member of unit two and third in the chain of command. He has become sort the unit's unofficial leader as Wolf and Kyla often are on outside missions. He can be sort of a smart ass sometimes but he usually knows when to stop.

X5-439 aka Artemis Member of unit two. She's the sniper of her unit. Her rather calm and controlled self helps the others from getting out of hand too much. Like Wolf and Kyla she keeps her brown hair very short as she thinks it would hinder her otherwise.

X5-526 aka Bear Member of unit two. He's the biggest and strongest X5 in the unit and prefers heavy weapons. Nevertheless he's very gentle and almost never gets angry.

X5-194 aka Blade Member of unit two. The Asian woman is one of the few that could actually beat her CO or her 2IC in a hand-to-hand combat. She is almost obsessed with any sort of blades and usually tries not to use firearms.

X5-367 aka Havoc Member of unit two. The black haired and tanned transgenic is the unit's expert when it comes to explosives. He is almost as calm as 439 and is known for his subtle sense of humor.

X5-210 aka Jondy As children Max and Jondy had been in unit one and escaped together in '09. Jondy got caught by Lydecker months before Max and has joined unit two. She is loyal to Manticore and her unit but this doesn't mean she likes everybody around the base. Eventually she even refers to Lydecker that he 'can be an asshole sometimes'. Nevertheless she chose to stay out of her free will and hopes Max will be in her unit for she deeply cares about her younger sister.

X5-301 aka Kyla 2IC of unit two. Usually paired with Wolf during their missions. The two of them have the most experience throughout the X-series when it comes to combat missions and search and destroy and both of them are very well trained in close quarter combat and hand-to-hand fights.

X5-258 aka Nitro Member of unit two. The young blond man adores every sort of vehicle. He's one of the more unsettled X5.

X5-154 aka Nova The blond transgenic is the medic of unit two. She's one of the smallest X5 but nevertheless can take care of herself just fine. Other than that she's one of the X5 with the most experience in missions outside Manticore.

X5-451 aka Wolf CO of unit two and Max's genetic brother. His intense grey eyes and very short black hair clearly let him look like the soldier he is. Calm and almost always controlled his self-discipline and his knowledge about almost every kind of combat make him a very dangerous enemy.

"Target located", Wolf whispered and Max tensed. It had been the first words that had been spoken between them since they had reached their position nine hours ago. Since then they hadn't moved and despite the rather cold and unpleasant weather she was beginning to feel uncomfortably warm in her ghillie suit.

They were lying in a forest in Virginia somewhere near the Shenandoah National Park. They had arrived here three days ago and since then had waited for their target to make the first mistake.

Aaron Wittaker, officially a businessman who had made a fortune with property leasing but in reality one of the biggest arms dealers throughout the whole country. The committee had observed him for a long time and had finally decided that his time had come. A week ago Lydecker had called Max, Wolf and Kyla to his office and gave them the order to terminate. Max had felt excited and anxious at the same time; it would be her first real mission and she would be able to leave Manticore for a few days but at the same time she dreaded the moment when their target would come into view because Lydecker had made it clear: She would be the one to pull the trigger; it would be her baptism of fire.

Wittaker knew that he had many enemies and his personal security was good, too good for even an X5 to sneak up on him so they had decided to use a sniper rifle, neutralizing the target from a good distance. Technically this would have been a task for Artemis but Lydecker had been adamant about Max doing it; he wanted to see if she was ready.

It wasn't an easy mission, Wittaker was careful, almost never left the building and when he did he moved quickly and was always surrounded by his bodyguards; no chance for a clear shot. The building itself was a fortress, the walls reinforced, the security system top and the windows bulletproof even for a weapon of the caliber Max was holding at the moment. It had been a waiting game until now but it finally seemed to be over.

"Opening two-delta, the balcony" Wolf whispered looking through his binoculars. He was her spotter while Kyla was about twenty meters behind them watching their backs. Usually this would be a two-men mission but Lydecker had insisted in sending three X5s; whether it was for their safety or because he didn't trust her completely Max didn't know.

She moved slightly adjusting the rifle in her hands zeroing in on the balcony through her scope. Yes, there he was, smoking a cigarette. These things really could kill you. Even from the distance she could identify Aaron Wittacker, brown hair and bald patch, slightly overweight but still with an aristocratic face.

"Target located and confirmed" she whispered back almost inaudibly but loud enough for her brother to hear her.

"Distance: 950. Wind: negative 4." She adjusted her scope according to the information he gave her, then switched of the safety and prepared to take the shot.

When he felt that she was ready he started to whisper "Fire, fire, fire…" as a sign that she was free to shoot.

Max suddenly felt herself being back at the night Eva died. She heard the gunshot and saw her sister fall. It would be so easy, squeezing the trigger and sending the bullet on its way. That man deserved to die and she knew it, his acts had probably cost hundreds and thousands of innocent lives all around the world. But who was she to decide whether one should live or die?

'It's not your decision' a tiny voice whispered in her mind. 'The decision has been made by your superiors, you're only here to carry out their orders.'

'But it feels wrong!' another part of her mind objected.

'Nothing's wrong, you're a soldier, now do you duty. It is your mission!'

'But…'

'No but! You're a soldier, carry out your mission`

'Soldier'

'Soldier'

'Duty'

'Mission'

'DUTY DISCIPLINE MISSION'

Suddenly Max felt calmer than ever before in her life. Nothing around her mattered anymore. Not the sound of the wind in the trees, not the wetness of the humid ground below her slowly getting through her suit. She could see nothing but the man in his grey suit smoking a cigarette and heard nothing else than her brother calmly whispering 'fire' again and again. Like she had it done countless times under Artemis' observant eyes her finger found the trigger and squeezed it. She exhaled and lay completely still, then squeezed it some more. Like in a dream she heard the shot and felt the recoil of the rifle against her shoulder. After about two seconds she felt Wolf smile.

"Headshot, target neutralized." His voice seemed to wake her up. She looked through the sniper scope and where seconds before Aaron Wittacker had been standing she could see blood on the wall and an unmoving body lying on the floor. Bodyguards were running around everywhere and even from the distance she could hear their shouting. She didn't move, only slowly realizing what had happened. Wolf looked at her with sudden concern. He touched her and she flinched, looking at him warily. "Hey, it's okay, you got it done. We have to move out. Come on."

Carefully they left their position quickly moving towards were Kyla was waiting for them. When they reached her the shorthaired X5 looked at them expectantly. "How did it go?"

"Mission accomplished" Wolf informed her briskly standing up. They had to move. "We gotta go. Kyla, you take point, Max, you're right behind her, I take rear. Move out!"

Without a sound but with the speed of transgenics in battle the three X5 made their way through the forest. It didn't take them long to reach their car, an old SUV. They threw the ghillie suits in the trunk and got into the vehicle. Seconds later the three transgenics drove away from the scene of their latest mission.

They drove about an hour until they reached their destination, a Manticore safe house just outside a small town. There were no other buildings around and the whole place was quite isolated so they didn't have to worry about somebody seeing them. They got out of the car and Wolf and Kyla started unloading their equipment. Max just stood besides the SUV trying to wrap her mind around what had happened. She had killed before, but always in self-defense or trying to protect somebody that was dear to her, she had never killed the way she had today, so coldly. She didn't feel guilt or remorse, to be honest she didn't feel anything at all and that frightened her.

Kyla saw her expression and motioned silently for Wolf to take their gear and go into the house. He frowned but upon seeing his sister's hollow expression he just nodded and disappeared into the building soon after. Kyla approached Max slowly, eyeing her with concern. She knew what her team mate was going through at the moment.

"Max?" she said trying to sound reassuring. "How are you?"

"I'm fine." The answer was automatically.

"The hell you are!" Despite the rather harsh words Kyla's voice was soft. "Come on, talk to me."

"You wouldn't understand" Max shook her head slowly not meeting the other woman's eyes.

"You think so, hm? I know exactly how you are feeling, Max." When the brown haired X5 didn't answer and kept her eyes on the low Kyla sighed and produced a packet of cigarettes out of her pockets. She lit one for herself then offered the package to Max. "Want one?"

Even in her current state of mind Max couldn't help but wonder. Kyla smoked? She had always appeared to be like she wanted to be in top shape all the time. The shorthaired X5 grinned recognizing her surprise; with her face still covered in camouflage color her teeth looked almost unnaturally white against the dark green and black on her skin.

"One after each successful mission" Kyla explained. "It won't kill you. Wolf does it, too, so don't worry about it. Take one; it will make you feel better. Even we need some distraction sometimes."

Without actually thinking about it Max nodded and took one of the cigarettes and bent forward a little bit when Kyla lit it. It was a stupid thing to do but at the moment she didn't care. The smoke burned in her lungs but after the first seconds she relaxed a little bit. The two women stood in silence for a few minutes until before Kyla spoke up again.

"You want to know how I got my name?" Max looked at her with a tiny spark of curiousness in her eyes. Why would she tell her? She had not been in unit two for a long time and her 2IC hadn't even told Alec. She nodded. Kyla smiled almost sadly. "It was one of my first outside missions after '09. We were going after a man called Yann Kuzec. He was supposed to be one of the men behind the pulse. Unfortunately his security was very good and there was no way of getting to him without risking too many losses. But eventually we found a way."

The slightly older transgenic grinded her cigarette under her jackboot.

"He was a pedophile. Manticore decided that a female X5 would be able to get close enough to him. They chose me. I was about twelve at the time." Kyla looked at Max very well remembering that mission. Eidetic memory wasn't always an advantage. "It worked. I got past his guards and into his bedroom. But when he started touching me I lost it and instead of waiting for a better chance I grabbed a paper knife and somehow managed to cut his throat with it. Not a very clean way of neutralizing your target but it worked. After that I fled. I felt no remorse, nothing, I had done my job and had to get out of there again. You can imagine that his guards couldn't stop me, I think they were too shocked to hold me back, a small girl having his blood all over her."

She laughed bitterly at her memories.

"When I got out Wolf was already waiting for me. He brought me back to our hideout. I couldn't stop thinking about what I had done. I had felt nothing, no anger, no hate, not guilt. Just nothing. He tried to get to me during the whole night but I was too preoccupied with my own thoughts to even answer to him. Thinking about it now I know I had been in shock. That was when he told me about a girl he'd met a few years back, a girl who had given him a name: Wolf. He said that I could have a name too and suggested Kyla. I didn't know what it meant but I liked how it sounded. It always remembers me of that night but when hearing my name I do not think about that man dying at my hands or his blood on my skin; I always remember how Wolf cared about me afterwards and that is a good memory."

The black haired X5 breathed deeply and Max understood now why she hadn't told Alec about the origin of her name.

"You see, I know how you feel. It had been my first kill and it completely threw me of the track. That's normal; everybody in our unit had this sort of experience and they all got over it like you will, too. It's what we've been trained to do, it's what we have been made for. We're soldiers."

"I don't feel like a soldier at the moment" Max answered quietly, "more like a killer."

"Everybody is a killer, Max, we just are better ones than almost anybody else. I know it's hard to believe at first but that's just the way it is. I only want you to know that you have friends now who know and understand, just like I had Wolf during that night."

Max just nodded, feeling a little bit better. Perhaps there was some truth to the old saying 'a problem shared is a problem halved'. She didn't understand why Kyla trusted her so much but she felt glad to have the other woman at her side.

"And now come" Kyla finally said when she saw that the other X5 was starting to understand what she had been talking about. It would take her a few more hours, perhaps even a day or two to get accustomed to the thought that she had only done what had been necessary but the black haired transgenic was sure Max would be okay again. The first time was always the hardest. "You need a shower and me too."

"Until now Manticore has been trying to stay hidden from the public but that cannot be tolerated anymore. The people responsible for the actions of this program must be brought before justice. Eyes Only knows about Manticore's exact location, he knows about the special marks its soldiers have on their skin, it knows about the name of at least one of the men who are responsible for the deaths of several innocent civilians. You know I'm talking about you, Colonel, or do you prefer 'Deck'? Manticore has four days to reveal itself to the public or Eyes Only will reveal everything he has to the people of this country. This has been a streaming freedom video."

There was a long pause of silence in Logan's apartment after the video feed had ended.

"So, this is it" Bling finally said in a grave voice. "We're going against Manticore."

"We have always been going against them" Logan corrected him, "But never before so much was at stake.

"Let's just hope your new friends are up to their task." Even Zack sounded strained; he knew better than anyone else in the room what Manticore was capable of.

"They are not my friends and you know it." Logan sighed and turned towards Bling. "You should go home, Bling, you've done more than enough."

"I will stay, Logan, I want to have Max back, too."

Logan only nodded and the tree men returned to their task, which was waiting in silence and hoping that the Red Cell would spot the Manticore TAC team soon enough. It was a waiting game, again.

"Unit two, report to classroom seven!" the voice sounded from the speakers. "I repeat: Unit two, report to classroom seven!"

Wolf looked up from the reading he was doing in his cell but was quick to leave his small private space. Outside in the corridor the other team members met up and together they made their way to the classroom.

"Do you have any idea what's going on?" Kyla asked him.

"No", he answered curtly.

"Perhaps they finally got us another mission", Nitro said from behind them. "It would be nice to see some action again."

"We'll see." He, Max and Kyla had returned from their latest mission only days ago and he would be glad to have a few more days off.

When they entered the classroom they were surprised to see at least a dozen fully armed guards but having been soldiers for all of their lives – at least most of them – they managed to hide their feelings and stood behind their chairs.

A few minutes passed and neither the X5 nor the guards moved but Max could feel their nervousness. Something had happened, something bad and she couldn't help but sense Wolf getting nervous, too.

Suddenly the door opened and Lydecker entered the room with a grim expression on his face.

"Attention!" Wolf barked automatically and the transgenics snapped. Lydecker looked at them for a few seconds clearly angry.

"Sergeant O'Neill" he addressed the guards, "you and your men can wait outside."

"Yes, sir!" O'Neill knew better than to question the Colonel's orders; too long he had served under the highly decorated veteran. He nodded towards his men and the black clad guards left the room without a word. When the door had been closed Lydecker turned towards the X5s who were still standing at attention. Finally he growled: "At ease. Take a seat!"

Wolf's team did as told. After that Lydecker looked from one to another. They didn't show any emotion but in their eyes he could see that they were worried. Good.

"Soldiers" he began carefully choosing every word, "I have come to know that there has been a breach of regulations in you unit. You, all of you, did something you very well knew it is strictly forbidden."

They kept looking at him and he could see that they were beginning to understand what he was talking about; nevertheless they rested motionless.

"I have learned that you are calling each other by names when you think you're not being observed." This at least got him a little reaction. Some of the soldiers paled and he could hear Max gasp. He looked at Wolf but the CO of the unit just like his 2IC Kyla had a stone cold expression on his face and just kept staring at the wall. "Before you ask: It is none of your concern how I came to know about that. I'm the head of this facility and it is my job to know about everything going on on this base! It is furthermore my job not to tolerate any breach of rules. I had to report your misconduct to my superiors and they were not pleased at all."

Hearing this Wolf closed his eyes feeling defeated. He'd known it. How could he have been so stupid? Because of his failure the whole unit would be punished, put into PsyOps or even worse.

"I know that X5-210 and X5-452 always had a thing for names but I wouldn't have thought that the rest of you would be so stupid. As you know giving each other names has been the first sign of problems in unit one before they deserted and this has never been forgotten. Most of the committee members wanted you in PsyOps, some of them even wanted your unit dissolved."

Some of the transgenics trembled almost invisibly. If a unit got dissolved the unit members usually were put into PsyOps and not released until they had undergone a reindoctrination so severe they remembered almost nothing about their former life. It was what had happened to 734 – Brin. Lydecker saw the signs of fear and nodded grimly.

"To be honest I have been inclined at first to do exactly what the committee wanted but I decided against it." Kyla looked up for the first time showing some sort of emotion. He saw hope in her eyes. "Your service records are all class A and you've showed in the past that you're loyal to Manticore even in extreme situations. You're older and more experienced than the members of unit one have been and there hasn't been a problem with 451 and 301 who have been using their names for years. I was able to convince the committee to spare you this time but all of your actions will be watched very closely. One mistake and you will undergo a reindoctrination so ripely you are not even able of imagining it; what X5-452 has experienced some months ago will be nothing compared to the things I will let PsyOps do to you. If I see only one of you being distracted or lacking the usual amount of effort I will put the whole unit through hell and back until you're acting like the soldiers you are, IS THAT UNDERSTOOD?"

"Sir, yes sir!" a chorus of voices answered him. The X5 looked frightened, all of them, even the battle hardened Wolf and Kyla. The knowledge that they were given a last chance didn't lessen their fears for they knew he wasn't a man of empty threats.

"I hope so" he said seemingly much calmer. "To make things clear: The committee does allow you to use your names when talking to a member of your unit. They've decided that it would be a worthless effort to try and erase them from your minds again. Don't ask me how you earned such mercy."

Of course he knew; it had been him who had convinced the committee members that trying to let the whole unit forget about their names would only decrease their operational abilities and perhaps even lead to the danger of another '09 escape and surprisingly they had believed him. Perhaps it was because he had managed to bring back 210 and 452 and knew more about the '09 escapees than anyone else but he didn't know and he didn't care, all that mattered was that unit two would continue to exist.

"When talking to a superior or an outsider you will only use your designations. The instructors have been informed and any further misconduct will be reported immediately. Now, I will only ask you bunch of undisciplined blockheads once. Did you understand what I just said?"

"Sir, yes sir!" they all voiced their affirmatives and he nodded, the grim expression not gone from his face. "Good. Now, everybody except for 451, 301, 439 and 452: Dismissed!"

When the rest of the unit had left Lydecker turned towards the four remaining X5.

"Okay, listen up" he barked changing into his more formal command tone. "We do have a situation in Seattle. There is a man who calls himself Eyes Only. He's been trying to destroy our cover for some time now and the committee wants us to deal with this problem."

Okay, definitely not a chapter as easy to read like the ones before, but hey, I warned you.

The cliffhanger is not so bad this time, just give me a few reviews and you'll get more.

See ya!